Here’s what’s been happening since the 20 week update, but first, a picture…

Self-portraits are not my thing.

Weight Gain

I’m going to write this one time: I won’t ever share on here how much I weigh or how much weight I’m gaining on a week-to-week basis. It has nothing to do with me not wanting to put my weight on the internet (I don’t, but that’s not the point) but more to do with not wanting my weight to be a stumbling point for someone else. I gained a healthy amount while pregnant with Joe and I imagine that this pregnancy will be the same. After having Joe and getting home, I was 5 pounds shy of my pre-pregnancy weight. Again, here’s hoping that this pregnancy is the same. Even though I have no reason to think that I’m gaining an unacceptable amount, and even with a healthy weight-gain history behind me, I still struggle with self-image, especially when I read comment threads where women talk about how they only gained 9 pounds during their pregnancy or how they weighed less postnatal than what they weighed pre-pregnancy. What?!

That being said, I’ve finally started to gain some weight. Not a lot, but enough so that my pregnancy phone app is no longer giving me a slight warning notice (“If this continues, please consult your doctor or midwife…”). I actually still weigh less at 22 weeks pregnant than I did pre-pregnancy with Joe.

Pregnancy Fitness

Still going to the gym, though I’ve moved off of the treadmill and onto the bike or elliptical, depending on what’s free. The treadmill was great, but it meant taking a bathroom-break every 10 minutes. Talk about a choppy workout. The elliptical and bike are something that I can use straight through. I also start my prenatal fitness class in less than 2 weeks. Last but not least, I’ve found a pregnancy fitness DVD that I like and that gives me a decent workout. My plan is to keep up with going to the gym every 3 days and use the DVD on my days off.

Appetite, Aversions, and Cravings

No aversions, not much appetite, and craving something sweet in the evenings. I still stick to eating protein in the morning and then consuming whatever leftovers I’m feeding Joe for lunch. Dinner is 99% homemade by moi, and is usually very healthy (which means healthy lunch leftovers). Once evening time rolls around, though, I crave chocolate and cookies and anything sweet. I’ve heard that this can be caused by not getting enough protein. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was what was causing my craving, since I seem to constantly struggle to get enough protein into my diet.

Sleep

Sleep is no fun. I don’t actually drift off till around midnight and am usually awake before 6:30am. I still don’t nap, though there are days when I’m tempted to snooze while Joe is lying down.

Baby Movement

Still moving and grooving. Chris has been able to feel the baby a couple of times, too. Quite exciting!

Pregnancy Brain and Weird Dreams

Two big instances of pregnancy brain…

(1) I ran an entire load of light clothes without putting in any washing detergent. It wasn’t until after I’d hung them to dry and was pouring the detergent onto the load of dark clothes that I realized what I’d done. I had to take all of the lights down, wait for the darks to finish, and then re-wash the lights. Argh!

(2) I got back from driving the car earlier this week and when I got to the front door, I tried to open the house door by pressing the “unlock” button on the car key. I pressed it several times before I realized what I was doing. Whoops!

Other Odds and Ends

One ear and one nostril (both on the same side) are constantly stuffed up. It’s driving me crazy. I kept trying to equalize the pressure in my ear throughout the day yesterday, but no such luck. This has been going on for a week. The same thing happened while pregnant with Joe, and it eventually went away. All of that increased vascular volume is to blame. Here’s hoping that it ends sooner rather than later.